Hornets Keen to Keep Up With the Elite of the West with Recent Trade

[AtTheDriveIn]

Late Monday night, the New Orleans Hornets made a deal, vying to trade away starting center, Tyson Chandler, 26, to the Charlotte Bobcats for star big man, Emeka Okafor, 26, proving that they are still in the hunt to be considered an elite Western Conference team. Already, fans are gushing over the new addition; Okafor brings not only an elite post-defender to the Hornets, but also another very capable offensive player, having averaged 14 points per game over his 5 year career thus far.

 

Most suspect financial trouble on the part of the Hornets as an instigator for this trade on their part. Firstly, Okafor’s contract, although longer in years left on his contract costs less than Chandler’s in this first season, saving the Hornets roughly $1 million next season. Also, many predict that with Okafor, New Orleans have a chance to attract more spectators to their games; the strong fan base meaning more revenue for the club which usually ranks among the bottom of the league in attendance at home games, having ranked 19th last season and 26th the season before, even though in those seasons, they have put in 49 and 56 win totals, respectively.

 

Tyson Chandler has also been on the Hornets trading block for a long time, having nearly being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline last season for Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith. However, Chandlers recurring foot concerns made the Thunder rescind the trade after Chandler failed a physical. With the Hornets actively seeking to trade Chandler away, it was only a matter of time before a move was made to ship him away.

For the Charlotte Bobcats, this trade seems to be more gearing towards the coveted 2010 Free Agency pool rather than focusing on improving next season. Chandler’s $12.7 million contract expires next season, along with the $7 million dollar contracts of Vladimir Radmanovic (assuming he accepts his player option) and Nazr Mohammed, whom both expire next season, giving the Bobcats plenty of cap space to be able to be a major player in the sweepstakes, hoping to pair a star player with a strong core of Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw and D.J Augustin.

 

However, many still question whether or not the front office’s attitude towards putting together a winning organization will play a role in actually being able to sign some of the more valuable free agents.

 

Unless any complications arise with the trade process in which this trade crumbles, Gerald Wallace will be the only player left from the original 2004/2005 Charlotte Bobcats.

[AtTheDriveIn]

Very rough, very quick, but needed to be done and out of the way before this trade is actually rescinded as well.

[doobeedoo]

Huh? I almost wish it was rescinded. Assuming Okafor's offensive game doesn't improve drastically this season, the differences between Okafor and Chandler talent wise seems too minuscule for me... and the Hornets are still a bit far from contending. Peja is starting to fall off, he needs to stay healthy along with Mo Pete and there's still issues with their depth.

[GCMD]

Huh? I almost wish it was rescinded. Assuming Okafor's offensive game doesn't improve drastically this season, the differences between Okafor and Chandler talent wise seems too minuscule for me... and the Hornets are still a bit far from contending. Peja is starting to fall off, he needs to stay healthy along with Mo Pete and there's still issues with their depth.

 

 

I'm not sold on this trade either. To me, Chandler's defense was a huge bonus for the high speed, frantic pace Paul likes to operate in. Okafur is not the shotblocker that Chandler is nor is he the freak athlete...he's no slouch but Chandler was a game changer.

 

What the Hornets should have been focusing on was a player like Rip Hamilton...even a Flip Murray. They need help in the backcourt, not the frontcourt. David West is very capable of doing a decent to great job on both ends of the court there so that wasn't an issue.

 

 

I don't like the trade from the Hornets side. As far as CHAR, if Chandler can get healthy (big if right?), they will have a good chance of making the playoffs this year...based on defense which, if you remember, is Larry Brown's specialty.

[Built Ford Tough]

I'm not sold on this trade either. To me, Chandler's defense was a huge bonus for the high speed, frantic pace Paul likes to operate in.

 

Why does everybody always talk about this "high spped, frantic pace" that Paul and the Hornets love to play all of the time? The Hornets have been among the slowest paced teams in the NBA in every single season of Paul's career. All it takes is one quick look at Basketball Reference and you will see that the Hornets play at a slow pace and are usually among the slowest teams in the entire NBA. Just look at where they have ranked among pace since Paul was drafted:

 

2005/06: 21st of 30

2006/07: 23rd of 30

2007/08: 26th of 20

2008/09: 28th of 30

 

I always hear people say that Paul loves to play at this high speed pace and loves to push the ball up the floor, and while that may be the case, the Hornets have been one of the slower paced teams in the entire NBA since Paul came into the league, and Paul seems to have done pretty damn well in a half court offense. He is going to miss the pick and roll with Chandler and the lob passes to him though. That is definitely going to be something that Paul will miss about Chandler, but aside from that, Okafor is the superior offensive player in basically every way.

 

Okafur is not the shotblocker that Chandler is nor is he the freak athlete...he's no slouch but Chandler was a game changer.

 

The funny thing is that Chandler has this reputation as a fantastic shot blocker but his highest bpg average in a single season is 1.8 and he averages 1.4 for his career. On the other hand, Okafor's career high in blocks is 2.6 and his career average is 1.9. In fact, Chandler's highest bpg average in a single season is only 0.1 higher than Okafor's lowest bpg average as his worst blocking season was 1.7. Per 36 minutes Okafor has Chandler beat as well as he averages 2 to Chandler's 1.8.

 

I'm not saying htat Okafor is the superior shot blocker, but it is interesting to point out the fact that Okafor has, over the course of his career, averaged more blocks per game than Chandler and his worst season when it came to blocking shots is very, very marginally worse than Chandler's best.

 

I agree with you about Okafor not being nearly the same type of athlete Tyson is though, but Okafor is a much smarter player as well as a better one on one defender. Chandler is a very good help defender and is good at coming from the weakside to contest shots, but Okafor is the superior overall defender if you ask me. One thing that is very overlooked when it comes to Okafor is how long he is. People rave about Chandler and his length, but Okafor actually has a longer wingspan than Chandler does as his is 7'4" to Chandler's 7'3".

 

Would you mind explaining to me how exactly Chandler is a game changer? What is it that he does that changes games exactly? His defense, while good, is not at the level of a Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bill Russell type of level where he can dominate a game on the defensive end of the floor. His offense sure as hell is not game changing. So what exactly is it that makes you say Chandler can be game changing when at worst, Chandler is slightly better than him on the defensive end of the floor and Okafor is a superior offensive player?

 

What the Hornets should have been focusing on was a player like Rip Hamilton...even a Flip Murray. They need help in the backcourt, not the frontcourt. David West is very capable of doing a decent to great job on both ends of the court there so that wasn't an issue.

 

I can definitely agree with you on this. The Hornets are in dire need of some perimeter help. Aside from Paul, the Hornets are really lacking any sort of talent on the perimeter. Peja Stojakovic is nothing like he used to be, Morris Peterson is always injured and even when healthy is nothing more than your run of the mill role player, Rashul Butler is just a shooter and not much else and Julian Wright is unproven and who knows what he is going to give you. The Hornets are a very weak team on the perimeter, unless I am forgetting somebody. That doesn't mean that I don't like the trade because of the simple fact that Okafor is the better player than Chandler is (in my opinion).

 

I don't like the trade from the Hornets side. As far as CHAR, if Chandler can get healthy (big if right?), they will have a good chance of making the playoffs this year...based on defense which, if you remember, is Larry Brown's specialty

 

I just don't see how people don't like the trade on the Hornets behalf. Yeah, they don't get a lot better as Okafor isn't a monumental upgrade over Chandler, but he is still an upgrade on the offensive end of the floor and at worst is a slight downgrade defensively (I think he is just as good if not better than Chandler defensively). Chandler is coming off of a very poor season and there are questions about his health, while Okafor has been very healthy in his career aside from his sophomore season and is just as good if not better in every single catagory of the game aside from athleticism.

 

I don't see how the Hornets are going to make the playoffs this season. Yeah, they are going to be good defensively, but they are going to be horrific offensively, and unless they add a scorer to the roster, they are going to be even worse offensively than they were last season because, while Okafor wasn't a great offensive player, he is still undoubtedly better than Chandler on the offensive end of the floor. Last season the Bobcats couldn't make the playoffs and they are virtually the exact same team this seaosn and may even be worse if they don't work something out with Felton. So combine the fact that the Bobcats are at best the exact same caliber of team as they were last season, which they didn't make the playoffs, and the fact that the East easily got better this offseason, I don't see how the Cats are going to be even close to making the playoffs.

 

I mean I don't see how the Bobcats are going to finish better than any of the following teams:

 

Cleveland

Boston

Orlando

Atlanta

Chicago

Miami

Toronto

Washington

Philadelphia

 

That is 9 teams right there that I think are going to be easily better than the Bobcats and then there is also a team like Detroit that has a very good chance of being better and potentially sneaking into the playoffs. That puts the Bobcats around 11th place if you ask me.

 

To each their own though, I just don't see how they are going to make the playoffs in the much improved Eastern Conference without getting some offensive firepower.

Edited August 3, 2009 by Built Ford Tough

[His Greatness]

Holy sh-t BFT, do you have any post that isn't bible length? Half your posts could probably be articles on here.

[Built Ford Tough]

Holy sh-t BFT, do you have any post that isn't bible length? Half your posts could probably be articles on here.

 

Lol, its like I used to say on the old OTR, I get carried away sometimes when posting and don't even realize how long my posts end up being haha.

[AtTheDriveIn]

Lol, its like I used to say on the old OTR, I get carried away sometimes when posting and don't even realize how long my posts end up being haha.

 

Most of the time, I just know that whoever I'm replying to wont read any of it anyway, and will pick out things that suit his agenda or argument, so since like two years ago, I've just about stopped posting like in big paragraphs unless someone with intelligence will reply. You should consider it, saves you so much time.. haha.

[His Greatness]

You should know though, that girth is more important than length.

 

That sounded funnier in my head.

[Erick Blasco]

Why does everybody always talk about this "high spped, frantic pace" that Paul and the Hornets love to play all of the time? The Hornets have been among the slowest paced teams in the NBA in every single season of Paul's career. All it takes is one quick look at Basketball Reference and you will see that the Hornets play at a slow pace and are usually among the slowest teams in the entire NBA. Just look at where they have ranked among pace since Paul was drafted:

 

2005/06: 21st of 30

2006/07: 23rd of 30

2007/08: 26th of 20

2008/09: 28th of 30

 

I always hear people say that Paul loves to play at this high speed pace and loves to push the ball up the floor, and while that may be the case, the Hornets have been one of the slower paced teams in the entire NBA since Paul came into the league, and Paul seems to have done pretty damn well in a half court offense. He is going to miss the pick and roll with Chandler and the lob passes to him though. That is definitely going to be something that Paul will miss about Chandler, but aside from that, Okafor is the superior offensive player in basically every way.

 

 

 

The funny thing is that Chandler has this reputation as a fantastic shot blocker but his highest bpg average in a single season is 1.8 and he averages 1.4 for his career. On the other hand, Okafor's career high in blocks is 2.6 and his career average is 1.9. In fact, Chandler's highest bpg average in a single season is only 0.1 higher than Okafor's lowest bpg average as his worst blocking season was 1.7. Per 36 minutes Okafor has Chandler beat as well as he averages 2 to Chandler's 1.8.

 

I'm not saying htat Okafor is the superior shot blocker, but it is interesting to point out the fact that Okafor has, over the course of his career, averaged more blocks per game than Chandler and his worst season when it came to blocking shots is very, very marginally worse than Chandler's best.

 

I agree with you about Okafor not being nearly the same type of athlete Tyson is though, but Okafor is a much smarter player as well as a better one on one defender. Chandler is a very good help defender and is good at coming from the weakside to contest shots, but Okafor is the superior overall defender if you ask me. One thing that is very overlooked when it comes to Okafor is how long he is. People rave about Chandler and his length, but Okafor actually has a longer wingspan than Chandler does as his is 7'4" to Chandler's 7'3".

 

Would you mind explaining to me how exactly Chandler is a game changer? What is it that he does that changes games exactly? His defense, while good, is not at the level of a Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bill Russell type of level where he can dominate a game on the defensive end of the floor. His offense sure as hell is not game changing. So what exactly is it that makes you say Chandler can be game changing when at worst, Chandler is slightly better than him on the defensive end of the floor and Okafor is a superior offensive player?

 

 

 

I can definitely agree with you on this. The Hornets are in dire need of some perimeter help. Aside from Paul, the Hornets are really lacking any sort of talent on the perimeter. Peja Stojakovic is nothing like he used to be, Morris Peterson is always injured and even when healthy is nothing more than your run of the mill role player, Rashul Butler is just a shooter and not much else and Julian Wright is unproven and who knows what he is going to give you. The Hornets are a very weak team on the perimeter, unless I am forgetting somebody. That doesn't mean that I don't like the trade because of the simple fact that Okafor is the better player than Chandler is (in my opinion).

 

 

 

I just don't see how people don't like the trade on the Hornets behalf. Yeah, they don't get a lot better as Okafor isn't a monumental upgrade over Chandler, but he is still an upgrade on the offensive end of the floor and at worst is a slight downgrade defensively (I think he is just as good if not better than Chandler defensively). Chandler is coming off of a very poor season and there are questions about his health, while Okafor has been very healthy in his career aside from his sophomore season and is just as good if not better in every single catagory of the game aside from athleticism.

 

I don't see how the Hornets are going to make the playoffs this season. Yeah, they are going to be good defensively, but they are going to be horrific offensively, and unless they add a scorer to the roster, they are going to be even worse offensively than they were last season because, while Okafor wasn't a great offensive player, he is still undoubtedly better than Chandler on the offensive end of the floor. Last season the Bobcats couldn't make the playoffs and they are virtually the exact same team this seaosn and may even be worse if they don't work something out with Felton. So combine the fact that the Bobcats are at best the exact same caliber of team as they were last season, which they didn't make the playoffs, and the fact that the East easily got better this offseason, I don't see how the Cats are going to be even close to making the playoffs.

 

I mean I don't see how the Bobcats are going to finish better than any of the following teams:

 

Cleveland

Boston

Orlando

Atlanta

Chicago

Miami

Toronto

Washington

Philadelphia

 

That is 9 teams right there that I think are going to be easily better than the Bobcats and then there is also a team like Detroit that has a very good chance of being better and potentially sneaking into the playoffs. That puts the Bobcats around 11th place if you ask me.

 

To each their own though, I just don't see how they are going to make the playoffs in the much improved Eastern Conference without getting some offensive firepower.

 

It's maddening why they play so slow. It's as if, whenever they don't have a fast break, they walk the ball up and can't get into any set that doesn't involve a screen/roll. They've become so predictable and the good teams in the league have really learned to adjust.

 

I do feel that Chandler and West were the catalysts for the team. Whenever West played with energy and whenever Chandler was healthy, the team played at such a high level. Two years ago, Chandler was one of the best defensive players in the league. His defense against the Mavs in the opening round was ferocious, and he held Tim Duncan to some awful games in round two. Last year he was never healthy and New Orleans played stale, uninspired basketball. I strongly feel that Chandler's energy resonated stronger for the Hornets than anything Chris Paul has done.

 

With him out of the picture, Okafor isn't really an energy guy and one of his flaws is that he's said to play mechanically. That's why I don't think the Hornets will excel this season with Okafor. Chandler gave them a lot that they'll miss. Plus, Chandler has great instincts as a help defender, defends screens well, and can defend the perimeter. The Hornets need an athletic wing more than they need a secondary post player.

 

As for Charlotte, aside from the first three teams (and I'd say Chicago), all of those teams are very mediocre. The Sixers will suffer without Miller running their offense, and the rest of the teams are one-man bands, one dimensional, or unathletic.

 

The Bobcats did a lot of nice things in the second half last year, like beating Philly, Atlanta, Toronto, the Lakers, Portland, and Phoenix, and the Lakers, Philly, and Toronto wins all came on the road. So saying they aren't going to come close to making the postseason doesn't do them enough justice.

[kadillak]

I strongly feel that Chandler's energy resonated stronger for the Hornets than anything Chris Paul has done.

I'm sorry, but no...not a chance in the world. I agree with you that our offense became way too dependent on the pick and roll 'crescent city' connection deal with CP3 and Tyson and the occasional kick out to the shooters, but that's about all I can agree with you on. I'm in agreement with the vast majority of the Hornets fans that think CP3 basically made Tyson what he has become. I don't think Tyson will see as good of production in the future as he has had with CP3. His offensive game consists of put-backs and alley-oop finishes. Nothing else. Yeah, he was good defensively, but Okafor isn't a downgrade either.

 

I really like this trade for my Hornets, and I like the Diogu signing. I think it's a HUGE step in the right direction and it'll make us a decent bit better, but there's still a few question marks surrounding this squad that will need time and answers before I can say we'll hang with the big dogs in the West on a consistent basis. As someone pointed out, a good SG who can ease CP3's duties for a few plays per game by creating offensive for himself is something we need. There's a chance Marcus Thornton could be the answer. He can definitely score it, but how long it'll take for him to adjust to the NBA and whether or not Scott actually gives him decent minutes as a rookie is a huge question.

 

I'm really satisfied with our off-season though. I look at Okafor as a small upgrade in talent over Tyson plus he can actually stay healthy. We needed someone that could rebound and bang around inside off of the bench and score a few points, and I think Diogu can do that. We needed a back-up point guard for CP3 that could actually run an efficient offense, and I think Collison is going to be able to step in almost immediately and fill that vacancy. We need a scoring two guard, and I think Thornton could develop to be that guy down the road. We've got CP3, West, and Okafor locked up for a decent amount of time, and the Hornets will have a few expiring contracts in Daniels, Peterson, and Peja all within the next two seasons, I believe, that can be used to free up cash and sign a good guard or packaged to bring that piece in. I feel a lot better about this team that I did just a few months ago.

[Built Ford Tough]

Most of the time, I just know that whoever I'm replying to wont read any of it anyway, and will pick out things that suit his agenda or argument, so since like two years ago, I've just about stopped posting like in big paragraphs unless someone with intelligence will reply. You should consider it, saves you so much time.. haha.

 

Makes sense and all, and I agree somewhat with you, but you can also look at it the other way as well in that a lot of the times somebody is not even going to bother reading what you wrote if they see a large post and will just leave the thread as a result. If somebody does take the time to read all of it and reply to it, well, there is a very good chance that they are somebody that it would be worth getting into a debate with. At least that is what I have seemed to experience a lot in the past, but I admit that I have also experienced a lot of what you described.

 

Honestly though, I don't intend to make my posts so long before I post them. I go into a thread and don't intend to post a long, article-esque post, but sometimes one thing leads to another and I will say something that gets me end up writing about something else and so forth lol. Like I said above, I just get carried away haha.

 

And Erick, I just don't see how Charlotte is going to contend for a playoff spot. If you ask me, they aren't even a .500 team and it is definitely going to take a record of at least .500 to make the playoffs next season, probably more. Even if Philly struggles or another team is hit by injuries, Charlotte is going to, at least in my opinion, have to leap frog more than just one or maybe even two teams to get into the playoffs next season as I think that they are around the 11th best team in the East as of right now.

 

There are surprises every year so maybe Charlotte will be that team that surprises me next season. Who knows?